Regulators pave way for biosimilar drug breakthrough

LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) – European regulators have cleared the way for the first serious threat to the makers of multibillion-dollar biotechnology drugs to treat diseases such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Friday that its experts had backed approval of two copycat versions of Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade – the first time a green light has been given for such antibody-based medicines. …